Bethenny Frankel believes ABC is now in “a mess” as “Bachelorette” cast members are “filing lawsuits” considering suing ABC over Taylor Frankie Paul’s season cancellation.
The former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star took to Instagram on Saturday to share her thoughts on the ongoing drama and potential lawsuit.
“The word on the street is that five ‘Bachelorette’ contestants want to sue, and it dawns on me that it’s painfully obvious,” Frankel, 55, began, before pointing out that his “dating member community” was “letting go” people for far less than “domestic violence.”
“That’s insane!” she continued. “It’s insane that a show that’s about finding someone, their life partner, and their ultimate greatest love connection on the biggest platform would literally cast someone with a troubled past.”
Frankel acknowledged that “everyone can reconcile and change,” but argued that the contestants “have a point” because they “entered the show to find love,” and that ABC “couldn’t have it both ways.”
“It’s about making everyone think that this show isn’t just for entertainment, like ‘The Hills’ or the billboards coming down, it’s really about finding true love,” the Skinnygirl founder insisted.
“They’re kind of crazy because there’s no way the most famous matchmaker in the world would cast someone like that and set them up to meet that person,” she concluded. “That’s strange.”
Five of the 22 contestants on “The Bachelorette” have threatened to sue ABC after the network canceled the season of Paul’s dating reality show three days before it aired.
ABC announced the decision shortly after TMZ released a shocking video in 2023 of the “Mormon Wives” star throwing a chair at ex-girlfriend Dakota Mortensen during a domestic violence incident.
Paul, 31, was arrested in connection with the incident, but the charges were ultimately dropped.
“In light of the new video that was just released today, we have made the decision not to move forward with a new season of ‘The Bachelorette’ at this time. We are focused on supporting our families,” the network told Page Six in a statement Thursday.
Paul’s suitors reportedly feel that Warner Bros. Discovery, which produced the canceled season of The Bachelorette, fostered an unsafe working environment by allowing her to interact with Paul despite her controversial history.
But attorney Ashley DiFantrum suggested it would be an “uphill battle” for the five contestants to sue Warner Bros. Discovery or ABC.
“I haven’t seen the contract here, but typically the contract is with the production company and includes some sort of language that says the production company and ABC can decide what to do with the footage, up to and including not releasing the footage at all,” Diphantorum told Page Six.
“But without the broadcast, they obviously missed out on other economic benefits that they might have had,” Diphantorum acknowledged.
Another attorney, Daniel J. Ein, agreed that the contestants would not be able to “successfully” “sue” the parties.
“The performer’s contract likely states that ABC has no obligation to use the performer’s appearance in the program or to air the program,” Ain told Page Six. “Contestants will also explicitly publish what they may claim.”
Frankel previously criticized ABC for casting Paul on this season of “The Bachelorette.”
“They knew of her domestic violence past and apparently cast her as someone other than the first Bachelorette and wanted controversy and redemption, so now they’re re-dealing it because the video came out,” she said in another Instagram video last week.
“I mean, a picture is worth a thousand words, and audio is worth a thousand words. But if someone was already involved in domestic violence, why would they cast her?” Frankel added.
